April hotel business running fuller than last year

Hawaii hotels are running two
to three percentage points fuller than last year in all four operating
counties, Hospitality Advisors LLC reported Friday.

Oahu hotels were 84 percent full last week, three points
better than year-before levels and six points better than the previous week,
with room rates up 17 percent from last year.

Maui hotels were 81 percent full, two points better than
year-ago levels and one point better than the week before, but the average room
rate of $247 a night was the same as last year.

Kauai hotels were 69 percent full, three points better
than year-before and five points better than the previous week with room rates
up 8 percent from last year.

Big Island hotels were 59 percent full, two points better
than last year but down two points from the week before, with room rates up 14
percent from year-ago levels.

For the same seven days to last Sunday, nationwide hotel
occupancy was 65 percent, Smith Travel Research LLC reported.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported on Thursday that
March saw 7.6 percent more visitor arrivals than last year and their collective
spending rose 7.8 percent, the result of higher daily spending offsetting
shorter stays.

West Coast arrivals were up 12.8 percent, partly because
California schools had their spring break in March after having it in April
last year.

There are substantial growth from newer and so far
smaller markets like New Zealand (up 89 percent, though that still meant fewer
than 7,000 visitors) and Australia (up 29 percent to almost 68,000 visitors).
China sent more than 35,000 visitors to Hawaii, up 43 percent, while Korea sent
39,000, up 11 percent.

Honeymoon traffic declined in March but was still up 1.2
percent for the first quarter, to 112,000 visitors, while almost 10,000 came to
get married in Hawaii.